ASEAN-Korea Centre is an International Organization mandated to promote economic and socio-cultural cooperation between ASEAN Member States and Korea.

ASEAN and Korean youth to unveil innovative startup ideas for improving the lives of people at a business idea competition

- The ‘2018 ASEAN-Korea Startup Idea Competition’ to gather startup ideas to enhance the lives of ASEAN and Korean people until 10 September -- The Competition to give awards worth USD 2,300 in total, ASEAN-Korea roundtrip flight tickets, as well as opportunities to pitch business ideas to domestic and foreign investors -

Seoul, Korea – The ASEAN-Korea Centre (Secretary General Lee Hyuk), Science and Technology Policy Institute (STEPI), Seoul Metropolitan Government, and the Korea Entrepreneurship Foundation will co-organize the ‘2018 ASEAN-Korea Startup Idea Competition’ from 10 August to 10 September. ASEAN and Korean youth are invited to submit creative and innovative startup ideas which can improve the lives of ASEAN and Korean people. Applicants, either as a group of three at maximum or individually, must fill out an online application form and upload business plan presentation slides and a three-minute video presentation. Online applications and file uploads are open until 10 September at 23:59 KST via the website (http://fs2.formsite.com/oLrE3r/form2/index.html).

The business plan and the three-minute video presentation should contain information about an idea for a product, service, or technology which can be used to resolve any problems facing ASEAN and Korean societies. They should focus on the following sections: what the problem is; how the problem will be solved; who the target is; what the benefits offer; and how qualified a candidate is in addressing the problem. However, ideas which have already been commercialized cannot be submitted, and only one idea is allowed per person or team. The top 6 finalists will be selected upon evaluation by the panel of judges and notified individually.

The Competition, supported by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Korea, ASEAN Secretariat, and ASEAN Foundation, will offer ASEAN-based finalists with roundtrip flight tickets from an ASEAN country to Korea and vice versa for Korea-based finalists; pitching at the ‘2018 ASEAN-Korea Youth Innovation Forum’ on 12 November 2018 in Seoul; quality mentoring sessions with public sector officials, private investors, and accelerators; as well as the invitation to the events organized by the ASEAN-Korea Centre and other international events. In addition, the top three winners will be awarded with USD 1,000, USD 800, and USD 500 respectively.

Lee Hyuk, Secretary General of the ASEAN-Korea Centre, said, “As the Korean president Moon Jae-in mentioned during his state visit to Singapore in July, startups are considered as one of the key areas of cooperation between ASEAN and Korea. In particular, it is important to encourage ASEAN and Korean youth with creative and innovative ideas to develop their startup ideas and invest in them for commercialization. To this end, the ASEAN-Korea Centre has been organizing the ‘ASEAN-Korea Youth Forum’ since 2014 under the theme of entrepreneurship. This year, we will launch the ‘Startup Idea Competition’ as part of the programme to provide more tangible and practical support to young startups. I look forward to seeing young bright ideas turn into reality and improve the lives of people.”